The events of the last few days have certainly been quite difficult to get my head around. All hell essentially broke loose after the humbling defeat on Sunday, and like most, I needed some time to calm down before writing out a post-mortem of what went on.
One thing that is absolutely crystal clear now is that the board were wrong to appoint Graeme Murty as manager until the end of the season back in December. This is not a hot-headed reaction to the display against Celtic, but more to do with what went out in the aftermath of the loss.
From Halliday and Candeias’s reaction to getting substituted, to the dispute between Morelos and Docherty that reportedly led to the outbursts from Wallace and Miller in the dressing room, the lack of discipline demonstrates a lack of respect for the man in charge.
Even before the cup semi-final, many in the squad probably felt that the Rangers boss would be leaving at the end of the season, so when he made his plans for the game, many players in the squad were likely second-guessing him.
The negative tactics employed by Murty meant he certainly deserved severe criticism. He insisted that the plan was to press high, but the central midfield three selected suggested otherwise. Rather than seeing Dorrans higher up the pitch in his more natural no.10 role, he was employed in a more defensive position.
He can be blamed, like Halliday and Docherty, for not tracking runners, but he was selected for a role he was ill-suited for. The boss has to take most of the responsibility for this poorly constructed strategy, but the players cannot be immune from criticism either.
If the plan was to press the opposition, they ignored the boss’s instructions, and the lack of desire on the pitch was self-evident. They were clearly not playing for the manager.
With that being the case, the board have to be held responsible. After being turned down by Derek McInnes, they surely had to find another permanent manager rather than settle for a short-term solution.
The season has just drifted since then with no plan of action seemingly forthcoming. Something has to change now so we can begin building for the future. We can’t afford another campaign standing still.